To provide feedback on the Boulder Valley School District's academic calendar options, go to BVSDListens.com.The survey on the calendar options is expected to be available after 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The Boulder Valley School District, for the first time in at least 15 years, is considering a post-Labor Day school start as an option.

Reacting to parent complaints about sweltering classrooms in August, the district has developed three calendar options that all start later than the current mid-August date. Two of the calendars place the first day of school in the last week of August, while the third pushes it back to the week after Labor Day.

"We're not considering a mid-August start date," said Superintendent Bruce Messinger. "We agree that it's just really unacceptable as a learning environment. There will be hot days in late August and September, but students will have less exposure overall."

The school district's current calendar was configured about five years ago to start in mid-August at the urging of secondary students and parents unhappy that finals were after winter break, requiring studying over vacation. Boulder Valley's start date also is in line with most other districts in the Denver metro area.

But last school year, parents and teachers complained that classrooms were unbearable during an August heat wave. Twenty-four Boulder Valley elementary schools have no air conditioning in classrooms, and eight of those schools have no air conditioning at all.

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In the district's most recent school construction program, adding air conditioning generally wasn't included because it was too expensive.

The calendar task force -- which includes district administrators, a principal representative, a teachers union representative and a district Parent Council representative -- developed the three options based on feedback from a districtwide survey taken in the fall.

The survey, taken online by about 2,000 people, showed a majority in favor of pushing back the start date. Also supported, though not as strongly, were finishing the first semester before winter break, aligning the calendar at elementary, middle and high schools, and minimizing four-day weeks.

The first option starts school Aug. 26 and 27, depending on grade. The semester ends before winter break, on Dec. 19, so that finals are before the break. But to end before winter break, the first semester is about 22 days shorter than the second semester. The last day of school is May 30.

The second option also starts Aug. 26 and 27 but ends the first semester about two weeks after winter break. The last day of school stays the same, May 30.

The third option starts school Sept. 3 and 4, depending on grade, and the first semester ends after winter break. The last day of school is June 6.

Most of the complicating factors are at the high school level.

Starting after Labor Day, for example, would mean students in Advanced Placement classes would have to take the AP tests almost a month before school ends -- leaving teachers to come up with a month's worth of enrichment.

Shortening the first semester to end before winter break could negatively affect semester-long high school classes, which mainly are electives. Regardless of the start date, sports practices also will continue to start in early August, as schedules are set by a statewide organization.

"It's all about trade-offs," Messinger said.

All three calendars move more teacher professional development days to the start of the year, along with moving two of the days that teachers are given off in exchange for attending nighttime parent conferences to the end of the year. Those changes reduce days off for students during the school year, ending the school year earlier.

All three calendars include a week off around Thanksgiving, two weeks around Christmas and a week for spring break, generally aligning with the University of Colorado.

Options considered, but rejected, by the calendar committee included starting high schools two weeks earlier than elementary and middle schools.

Along with collecting online feedback, the district is tentatively planning in-person sessions for later this month. Based on feedback, the calendar committee will then develop one option to present to the school board.

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